Shiv Kapur eager to continue hot streak at TAKE Solutions Masters

Bengaluru, August 2, 2017: Shiv Kapur has been one of the leading performers for India on the international stage this year. The Indian is now eager to continue his hot streak in his home country as he sets his sights on the inaugural TAKE Solutions Masters, a US$ 300,000 event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the PGTI, which gets underway on Thursday.

It has been a satisfying season so far for the Indian, who won his second Asian Tour title at the Yeangder Heritage in Chinese Taipei in April after waiting for more than 11 years. He followed that up with a joint second finish at the Thailand Open and also played in The Open two weeks ago where he missed the cut by a single shot.

Kapur said, “I’m really looking forward to this week since I’m playing in Bengaluru after five years. The win in Chinese Taipei earlier this year took a big load off my shoulders. It was then nice to back that up with another top result in Thailand and a few good finishes in Europe.

“Mentally I’m now in a good place. I’m in this bubble right now and the game is good. I would love to make this week count.

“We have a great field at this week’s event. It’s probably one of the best fields of the year for a full field event. You have all the recent winners on the Asian Tour here as well as most of the leading Indian players. With Bengaluru now emerging as a major centre for golf in India, it was befitting that the city got an Asian Tour event.

“The KGA course is in superb shape. The rough is up and one will need to be more accurate off the tee. You need to be in the right sections of the green since the greens are undulating. It’s a course that you can’t overpower, as it needs careful planning and execution. It suits my game.”

Shiv is excited about the fact that India is now hosting as many as three international events with the addition of the TAKE Solutions Masters to the Asian Tour schedule. He was all praise for TAKE’s initiative.

“Some of the top Indian players such as Jeev, SSP and me, are playing here this week as a mark of respect for Mr. Srinivasan and his immense contribution to Indian golf. It’s great to have the TAKE Solutions Masters upgraded to an Asian Tour event. We’re now fortunate to have three Asian Tour events in India. Hopefully, this event will grow into something even bigger and better in the years to come,” said Shiv.

However, the two-time Asian Tour winner admits that his attention will be divided between trying to win the US$ 300,000 Asian Tour event and to the wellbeing of his wife, who is due in the next 10 days or earlier.

He said, “My wife has been very cooperative, she told me to come and play this week even though we will be expecting our first child next week. My phone will be on standby just in case I have to go back and enjoy the birth of our first child. My wife is on emergency dial and in case I have to go back, I’ll go back to the baby.”

Speaking about his recent outing at the British Open, Shiv mentioned the positives he drew from the experience despite missing the cut.

“It was a wonderful experience. I was unfortunate to miss out by one shot. Probably Anirban and me got the worst end of the conditions but that’s the luck of the draw and one has to be prepared for it. I only take positives out of the week. Given the conditions I played quite well and it gave me this belief that when I play well I can compete with the best in the world. Hopefully I can play myself into more Majors in the future. I feel I’m now better prepared to deal with the rigours of playing a Major.”

Courtesy: Professional Golf Tour of India